Monday, 18 April 2011

J P Guivier - Mortimer St W1

I don't play the violin or in fact any stringed instrument but I have a fascination and a fondness for England's oldest violin dealer - J P Guivier on Mortimer Street. I love the jaunty window display, the sense of calm that seems to reside inside and just the fact that here in busy central London there is a shop wholly dedicated to selling violins, violas and cellos. Anyone who has read Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question (and if you haven't you should - it's great) will recognise Guivier's as the location of the main character's mugging. But don't let that put you off - I have stood and stared into this wonderful shop many a time without being assaulted (at least to date). It seems as though shops like this are increasingly rare in central London - perhaps driven out by high rents or the demand for a new Pret or Starbucks so I feel particularly protective of them. So if you are in the market for a violin, please buy it here! Otherwise, give yourself a moment of calm in your busy west end day and spend some time, just like Finkler, staring in at one of central London's loveliest shops.

In the early 1900s the Weston steam car was sold by Weston Motors operating out of 14 Mortimer Street. Imported from Grout Brothers Orange Mass. the Weston would have been sold to wealthy customers who would probably have also known about the violin shop. There is an early example of a Weston steam car in York Castle museum.I would be interested to learn anything I can about Weston Motors and their marvelous steamer.

Search This Blog

Loading...

Raison d'etre

An expat Aussie 15 years into a love affair with London, I decided to record some of the reasons I dig this city, with a key theme being the search for good coffee & food. Random musings with hopefully some appeal or use - if not, at least I'm having fun writing them! Enjoy.